"My policy has been, and will continue to be, while I have the honor to remain in the administration of the government, to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth. To share in the broils of none. To fulfil our own engagements. To supply the wants, and be carriers for them all: Being thoroughly convinced that it is our policy and interest to do so." ~ George Washington

President Petraeus?

"Sabah Khadim, then a senior adviser at Iraq's Interior Ministry, says General Petraeus discussed with him his ambition when the general was head of training and recruitment of the Iraqi army in 2004-05. "I asked him if he was planning to run in 2008 and he said, 'No, that would be too soon'," Mr Khadim, who now lives in London , said. General Petraeus has a reputation in the US Army for being a man of great ambition. If he succeeds in reversing America 's apparent failure in Iraq , he would be a natural candidate for the White House in the presidential election in 2012." Not surprising, as he has shown himself to be quite the politician already with the disingenuous "surge assessment" report, tailored to suit the political needs of the current dictator, rather than the interests of his troops and the country he supposedly serves.